With Bell tagged, a slow start to season might be in the cards
Bell does not sign, and the cap room would return to them. They could, for example, shop in free agency, come to agreements with an inside linebacker and another running back, withdraw the tag from Bell and use that money to sign the two other players. Or, they could draft a running back high and rescind it.
They’ve never operated that way, but it is within the rules, just as Bell not signing the tag last year and missing all of spring workouts and the preseason was within the rules.
This time, Bell says he will operate differently. He reiterated to ESPN Monday that he would hold out all year rather than play under the franchise tag. While that might be an idle threat, there’s no reason to believe he won’t follow his 2017 blueprint when he failed to show for anything until the first week of the regular season.
The Steelers, of course, will say they will continue to try to negotiate a multiyear contract with Bell and they have until July 16 to do so. But what would convince either side to alter their stances by then after a fruitless past two months of negotiations?
In the meantime, that $14,544,000 hit to their cap — which could easily have been cut in half for 2018 on a multiyear deal — could cripple attempts to fortify a defense that collapsed at the end of the season without Ryan Shazier.
They also need room to issue restricted free agent tenders to players such as Chris Boswell and Anthony Chickillo. Those tenders for 2018 are $4,149,000 for first-round compensation, $2,914,000 for second-round and $1,907,000 for compensation in the round in which the player was drafted. Chickillo, drafted in the sixth round, could get either of the lower two tenders while Boswell might receive the $2,914,000 since he was not drafted and other teams might see the lower tender as a bargain for him without giving up a draft pick. Those tenders must be issued by March 14, the start of free agency.
In addition, the salary of Jesse James climbs from $705,000 to $1,907,000 based on the NFL’s proven performance escalator that raises the pay of players in their fourth year provided they have played a certain percentage of snaps.
First, though, the Steelers must pare salaries through veteran cuts and/or restructuring contracts in order to make room for Bell’s franchise tag.
That in itself won’t be difficult because they have some larger player salaries for 2018 that can be restructured by turning them into bonuses and spreading the accounting out on the salary cap over the life of their contracts.
Examples would be Cam Heyward ($9 million salary), Joe Haden ($9 million), Maurkice Pouncey ($7 million) and even Ryan Shazier ($8.7 million). They also could sign Ben Roethlisberger ($12 million) to an extension beyond his contract that has two years left.
Of course, while restructuring does create cap room for the current year, it pushes off that accounting to future caps. The Steelers already restructured contracts of David DeCastro and Stephon Tuitt last month that created more than $13 million in salary cap space for this year and pushing it into the future.
Some veterans also could be in jeopardy of getting cut to create room. Those include J.J. Wilcox ($3,125,000), William Gay ($1.75 million) or even Mike Mitchell ($5 million).
The NFL sent memos to teams Monday that stated the salary cap for this year will be $177.2 million for each team. That also is adjusted for leftover cap room from last year for each club. The Cleveland Browns, for example, have a carryover of nearly $59 million in space from last year. The Steelers carried over just $4 million, according to NFL Players Association accounting, bringing their team salary cap to $181,241,060.
Placing the franchise tag on Bell leaves the Steelers with another option. They could work out a trade, but Bell would have to agree to it and sign the tag first.
If they do nothing but keep the tag on him, the Steelers face the prospect of another slow start to the season by Bell — if he decides to play — after an extended absence from football. After practicing just three days before the 2017 opener, he carried only 10 times for 32 yards at Cleveland.
He did not break through until the fourth game when he rushed for 144 yards on 35 carries. Through the first five games of last season, he averaged 74.2 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. The Steelers were 3-2 in those five games.
Bell eventually regained his form and finished with 1,229 yards rushing and could have become the first Steelers back in 71 years to lead the NFL if he hadn’t been held out of the final game. He also caught 85 passes, breaking his own team record for a back.
Bell might be the best back in the league and the Steelers signaled Tuesday they believe he is worth $14,544,000. At least they do for now.